Many of you have referred to this lifestyle entertainment and leadership blog as “the missing manual” to all things adulthood without skipping the awesomeness. Thanks BTW!

Most of our educational reports in audio, text article or video give “lab reports” in a step-by-step aimed at equipping readers while making them laugh!

Here is a glimpse over-the-shoulder via Mac Desktop screen video of how staffers align our core values/mission/vision with our daily operations using simple office technology. This is how we make the abstract concrete for our work culture.

See breakroom videos on Vimeo for our office outtakes and to snoop what’s in our fridge!

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol is committed to walking the talk as SmartyGirl in Leadership with SmartyFella “office spouses” as dear friends.

This example highlights our launch of our Love & Sex Series that includes Dating And Other Sports coinciding with October’s Campaign: Domestic Violence Awareness Month! SmartyFellas are #HeforShe and we SmartyGirls are for our “office spouses”/allies too!

Equipment

Mac desktop running Snow Leopard

Wireless Mouse that consumes Energizer batteries like a beast

Wireless Keyboard

Sense of humor

Lots of patience

Screenshot of National Domestic Violence Network’s Power and Control Wheel

Photo Credit: National Domestic Violence Prevention Network Power and Control Wheel

Skype account

Gmail account

Quicktime app

wifi

Objective: Mindfulness and efficiency in making judgments and completing set tasks aligned with philosophy. Accountability to crew, readers and self.

Step 2: Open Quicktime app to record screen desktop for this demonstration

Step 3: For demo highlight October’s campaign, study and be aware of the warning signs of unhealthy new/existing relationships according to the National Domestic Violence prevention network. Commit to giving respect to all men and women and insisting on the same.

Step 4: Login to SGL media company Gmail. See agenda items for shared team and leadership calendar. Note business travel to Toronto Canada in 2 weeks and arrival of New Zealand team in SFO next week.

Step 8: Have “coffee”/beer with staff via Skype in different Time Zones and begin the day at our “virtual” offices

In order to view the technical tutorial for those curious How to Record Screen from Mac Desktop, please use password: gumdropcircuit2 as a (no-cost WordPress SGL subscriber) to view on this Vimeo link!

Our Editor-in-Chief Renee Marchol comes from a musical family. Well more accurately a music and medical lineage. That could be why Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) resonates with her as a technology journalist. The same did for her Futurist great grandpa who was a surgeon and conductor in China. Earlier this summer Cannes-recognized Documentary Filmmaker Shanice Johnson interviewed Renee about her interest in technology, diversity and social justice and her great grandfather’s “hardcoding” resurfaced. Advocacy with technical expertise might be in her DNA.

It follows that our blog would send Renee to ask fine arts and interactive media Women in Technology. Exactly! This week, Regina Larre Campuzano met with us via Skype.

The Mexico City born artist took the video conference first on an outdoor patio of a coffee place at our Editor-in-Chief’s homebase in Seattle. That way our reporter could hear abstractions and imagine visual soundscapes. That’s not sarcasm. The Skype call only moved indoors when the call dropped. Then it was a live object lesson of SmartyGirl Regina’s training on microphones and the difficulty of some mono-directional mics picking up a few feet of weirdness because of the bounce back from walls.

Where did we hear about Regina Larre Campuzano? The previous week we spoke with Alan Chatham of the Spokane Washington fine arts and tech Laboratory. Regina is one of the selected artists-in-residence at this one-of-a-kind effort to blend fine arts with high tech to develop and nurture professional artists in this new field. Think a field of lasers or virtual reality (VR) used to create an inner journey for the museum visitor. Trippy, yeah?

This expectation has become a common one since the Internet of Things and Wearable Technology became more than just Google glass. As Regina Larre Campuzano explains museum docents are rethinking programming of exhibits because the public is so eager to consume a “walk through the mind of the artist in a 3D interactive experience” at a faster turnaround. Our rate of consuming memes might translate to our appetite for fine art using the latest technology to express a human feeling or constellation of emotional stories. Regina Larre Campuzano gave artist Yayoi Kusama as a primary example of women artists who are earning the attention of men and women who seek an immersive interactive experience. Like the male and female readership of SGL, Regina cares about egalitarian futures for careers for all genders.

The most common barriers for women artists, as experienced by storyteller Regina Larre Campuzano?

the societal burden of being the “first” and therefore beginner mistakes being a condemnation of the perceived incompetence of a gender rather than the natural learning curve of an individual getting up to speed. In short, the unfair pressure of not being allowed to fail fast and frequently to improve but having “one shot” to justify belonging with first-time out perfection

the internalized pressure of wanting to be respected that one fears delegating resulting in the exhausting responsibility of trying to perfect what goes on behind-the-scenes and public-facing performance. In brief, a woman has to do-it-all (100% self-reliant for all technical aspects) or be perceived as merely decorative

Regina Larre Campuzano uses the following analogy:

Flower painted by women assumed to be about gender, a flower painted by black artists assumed to be about slavery, but the same flower painted by a white male artist is free of those assumptions, and can be seen as simply a flower.

In other words, bias assumes there is only one story for an individual from an underrepresented minority to tell and that the public has already heard it.

As our reporter listened, talked and laughed with SmartyGirl Regina Larre Campuzo to ask about her upcoming visit to San Francisco as animator for her work for the nonprofit benefitting prisoners of conscience in China it’s clear Regina has many less often heard narratives to share. Stories that are funny, universally relatable and fresh. Need an example? She describes her faux phobia of this business trip while she meets with her client because her partner, a lovingly-described tech geek, might come back transformed from Burning Man. Her partner willingly experiences demonstrations about makeup to develop empathy for choices that Regina makes as an individual who enjoys her femininity as much as she relishes her right to express violence (not towards her partner) as a human emotion in her art. As Regina Larre Campuzo says so well: I can think about bombs while wearing a dress. Preconceived notions about faux biology limitations of women is another barrier. Women have the capacity. The willingness to learn technical aspects of creating interactive art won’t change if Regina decides to become pregnant. Embracing femininity as a feminist interpreted by Regina does not preclude professional development in sound engineering.

If you need another example of Regina’s optimism despite barriers, take a peek at her team collaboration with men and women to produce Impotence: A Love Story written, filmed and edited in three weeks. Note: Without spoilers, this is respectful and winsome

SmartyGirlLeadership Media interviewed Caulder Bradford, Owner/CEO of Diverge Creations LLC, for his take on building a deliberate team with a shared vision while bridging the gap between artistry and commercial success.

Last summer readers received an exclusive interview with TED talker Guy Kawasaki on what makes a brand likeable.

This summer SmartyFellas and SmartyGirls are given business leadership tips from edgy, avant-garde, and likeable Caulder Bradford.

So imbibe your favorite non-alcoholic beverage or Harp’s lager and ponder these thoughtstarters from a young but wise CEO.

C: In the beginning I was collaborating with my friend Edmund, who is an artist and game designer, on small, fairly unconventional web games. He’d have the vision and do all the art and I would handle engineering. With those early projects I think it wasn’t so much the core gameplay that was revolutionary but the unique art and the way we implemented our ideas. Ed moved on to create commercial works such as Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac, and I got more into engine and game tech development, and also worked in the mobile and social spaces for awhile, both as a contractor and also as part of several Bay Area startups. I’m now focused on my own projects under the Diverge Creations banner, as well as doing a bit of contracting & consulting for other companies.

How did you build support for you creative game development company?

C:I’m currently the only full-timer. The rest of my awesome team take on other projects 9-5. For some it’s a weekend project, working with me, and that’s totally cool. It’s great to work with talented people in any capacity and see them contribute to a project. So first, I had a clear vision to bridge the gap between art and business. Next, I found like-minded community: talented individuals who also believe being professional is a part of artistic integrity. Lastly, I invited those who were interested and a good fit for the team to join me.

Our team has a shared vision. This doesn’t mean we have the same skill set, and I think we are even somewhat different people in terms of interests, but as a creative force we fit together very well.

How do you communicate with potential funders who don’t understand the technology industry or the gamer artist community?

C: Funders do not have to understand the finer details of graphics engineering or our artistic influences, for example, to participate. Get to know us: what we have created in the past and who we are. We’re self-funded but I would be open to potential investors that trust us enough to stay hands-off from the creative process, and have faith in our ability to deliver a great product.

Can you give an example of sacrifices you’ve made to keep creative integrity?

C: You must decide for yourself what compromises you aren’t willing to make. That may mean declining potential investment offers that would derail the creative vision. As a result this will probably change your development time-frame. It will take longer but you will stay true to yourself and what motivates you.

How do you protect yourself and the indie company brand from burnout?

C: In contrast to some in the indie community who maybe believe it’s necessary to sacrifice a social life to succeed, I’ve found it’s really important for me personally to have at least some semblance of a work-life balance. Of course as the CEO of Diverge, I need to work much more than a 9-5 schedule. But I do take time away from the project to recharge. I do a lot of running, I check out concerts here in SF, work on my car etc. I find this prevents burn-out and keeps me motivated and enthusiastic about my business and my projects.

I make a point to network as much as I can and spend time with other artists & developers. I get inspired by just about anyone who is doing something creative and interesting with their life. I’m creatively influenced by all kinds of different sources, from music to film, literature, history, basically whatever. The idea of the reclusive developer, cloistering himself/herself in solitary confinement and subsisting on ramen isn’t exactly me. As a leader of a creative business you need to decide for yourself what kind of sacrifices are needed, and what you’re willing to do to meet your goals. Is creative control something you feel comfortable bargaining? How about the administrative control of your company? What would you give up for low overhead costs? Does the talent you want to attract require catered lunches? You just need to decide what kind of work you really want to do, and what kind of company you want to run, and then you need to stick to your guns.

What is a fun fact about you?

C: I have a pretty eclectic taste in music I suppose. Heavy metal is probably my main thing, but I like a lot of classical music too. I am especially fond of Wagner, Beethoven and Mozart. Amadeus (1984) is one of my favorite films, although I don’t think it’s too historically accurate…

Follow @caulderbradford for rants and musings, his bizarre Spotify playlist and updates on Diverge Creations’ projects.

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